Man arrested after police make UK's biggest ever money seizure

A man has been arrested after police made what is thought to be the biggest ever money seizure in Britain.

Bankers’ drafts worth £30 million were discovered at the home of a south wales man, who is suspected of money laundering for international criminals.

City of London Police launched an investigation last month after being tipped off that a UK bank account was being used to launder millions of pounds by organised crime gangs.

The arrested man was understood to be the boss of a test drilling business which usually had an turnover of £250,000 a year.

But when investigators examined the company’s recent financial transactions they discovered more than £40 million had passed through the business’s accounts in recent months.

It is alleged that £13 million was transferred to the company account last November before being then being converted in Euros and then being transferred to Georgia.

“We believe this man’s business account was being used by a global network of organised crime operators to launder tens of millions of pounds of stolen funds through the UK and then out into bank accounts around the world”

Detective Inspector Craig Mullish, City of London Police

Earlier this year £29 million was paid into the account, which the suspect allegedly claimed were funds intended to pay for the purchase of a Sri Lankan tea company.

The 58-year-old man was arrested at his home in Bridgend, south wales, where officers seized three bankers’ drafts, one for $8.8 million, another for £315,000 and a third for 30.7 million Euros.

Detective Inspector Craig Mullish, from the City of London Police’s Money Laundering Unit, said: “We believe this man’s business account was being used by a global network of organised crime operators to launder tens of millions of pounds of stolen funds through the UK and then out into bank accounts around the world.

“His arrest and the massive money seizure is further evidence of how banks and law enforcement are working very closely together to take criminal proceeds out of the UK economy.”